Written Answers

Friday 8 December 2000

Scottish Executive

Adult Literacy

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £22.5 million funding to improve adult literacy and numeracy announced on 25 September 2000 will be spent.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Decisions on the use of these resources will be informed by the report of the Adult Literacy 2000 Team, which is expected shortly.

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10649 by Jackie Baillie on 9 November 2000, whether any specific projects approved under (a) the Empty Homes Initiative and (b) the Rough Sleeper Initiative have been cancelled and, if so, what these projects and their approved costs were and how it has reallocated, or intends to reallocate, unused resources under these headings.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive has not cancelled any Empty Homes Initiative (EHI) or Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) projects. However, there have been a number of instances where councils have been unable to progress approved projects. In EHI cases we have worked with the council to identify a suitable substitute project. Where that has not proved possible the funding has been made available for re-allocation to EHI projects elsewhere. For RSI projects we have sought revised proposals from the councils concerned. The tables below sets out the individual EHI and RSI projects affected.

  Empty Homes Initiative

  Approved Projects Subsequently Cancelled by Councils

  


Local Authority 


Project Details 


Approved Award Total
£ 


Comments 




Aberdeenshire 


Release of feus for properties to be added to rental stock 


70,000 


Resources redistributed 




Dumfries & Galloway 


10 High Street: Repairs to empty Loreburn Housing Association 
property 


20,000 


Resources redistributed 




Dumfries & Galloway 


High Street, Lockerbie 


69,000 


Resources redistributed 




East Lothian 


Just in time repairs 


50,000 


Resources redistributed 




Edinburgh 


Great Junction Street: Scotmid-owned offices – conversion to 
12 flats 


264,000 


Resources redistributed 




Fife 


6 Rose Street, Burntisland, Fife Special Housing Association 


166,842 


Replaced by another Fife project 




Fife 


102-104 Bonnygate, Albert Hotel, Cupar, Kingdom HA 


149,500 


Council will submit a replacement project 




Glasgow 


Project with Glengarry Housing Association: Repairs to 11 flats 


38,500 


Resources redistributed 




Highland 


56 Grant Street, Inverness (FOS) 


13,212 


Resources redistributed 




North Lanarkshire 


Refurbishment of 2 cottages to form women’s aid refuge, Wishaw 


40,000 


Resources redistributed 




Perth & Kinross 


Redundant properties: 152 –156 South Street, Perth 


188,775 


Two replacement projects submitted by council for consideration 




Scottish Borders 


With Eildon Housing Association refurbishment project – 14 ex-health 
trust houses for letting 


183,515 


Resources redistributed 




Stirling 


Refurbishment of 4 vacant units (Cowan Street) for let or sale: 
with HA 


40,000 


Actively trying to seek replacement 




Stirling 


South Kersebonny Farm conversion for targeted low cost home ownership. 


80,000 


Actively trying to seek replacement 




Stirling 


Tackling empty properties, Stirling Town Centre 


370,000 


Actively trying to seek replacement 




West Lothian 


Youth Homeless project 


35,000 


Resources redistributed 




West Lothian 


Move on mainstream tenancies 


60,000 


Resources redistributed 




  Rough Sleepers Initiative

  Projects Where Delays Have Occasioned Cancellation and Re-allocation of Funds

  


Local Authority 


Project Name 


Award 


Comments 




Edinburgh 


Challenging Behaviour unit 


£135,000 


Project not started. Approach to dealing with rough sleepers 
with complex needs reviewed. Funds reallocated to revised proposal 
in April 2000. 




Edinburgh 


Reception Centre 


£560,000 


Planning issues caused delay in progressing project. Proposal 
was re-submitted and funding re-allocated for revised proposal 
in April 2000. 




Glasgow 


Turning Point/Link up project 


£2,641,952
includes capital and revenue 


Planning issues caused delay in progressing project and the capital 
element was not spent. Proposal was resubmitted and funding re-allocated 
for revised proposal. Revenue spent on current service in the 
existing facility.

Learning Disabilities

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the per capita resources dedicated to learning disability services, including community services, are raised to at least the level of expenditure in England and Wales.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to S1W-11247 on 29 November 2000.

Local Government Elections

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it announced a delay in the 2002 local government elections through an answer to question S1W-11507, before the question had been published in the Business Bulletin and after decision time on the day of a by-election, rather than by a Ministerial statement or following a parliamentary debate.

Peter Peacock: Informing Parliament of the Executive’s proposals by means of a parliamentary question is a recognised and accepted process. The issue of the term and timing of local government elections is one on which we have already consulted in the response to McIntosh. These proposals will require primary legislation to be brought forward and this will provide a further opportunity for discussion.

Local Government Elections

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a system of proportional representation will be utilised in the next local governmental elections, given that these elections will now be postponed to 2003.

Peter Peacock: The Executive is committed to making progress on electoral reform and the issue is currently being considered by the Ministerial Working Group set up to look at the recommendation of the renewing Local Democracy Working Group.

Ministerial Correspondence

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Lord Advocate will reply to my letter of 7 July 2000.

Colin Boyd QC: The letter relates to a highly complex allegation of crime, which has been considered at length. A letter will be sent by 15 December.

Ministerial Correspondence

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice will reply to my letter of 1 September 2000 and reminder letters of 6 October and 10 November 2000.

Colin Boyd QC: The letter relates to a highly complex allegation of crime, which has been considered at length. A letter will be sent by 15 December.

Non-Domestic Rates

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average value is of discretionary rebates on business rates for small businesses.

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of small businesses currently receive a discretionary rebate on their business rates.

Peter Peacock: This information is not collected centrally.

Nuclear Power

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11022 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 November 2000, whether its regular discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry and the energy industry have included any specific discussions on the possibility of increasing the nuclear electric power generation capacity in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: No.

Nursing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will enable geriatric nurses’ duties to be split between geriatric nursing and other nursing areas with a view to boosting recruitment of nurses to geriatric care.

Susan Deacon: There is no barrier to nursing jobs being designed in this way, provided that each nurse is appropriately skilled for a split role.

  Older people are not only nursed in specialist "geriatric" units, but are important users of services across the NHS. Whatever the setting, the older person and their carers should receive nursing services based on their individual assessed needs. Such assessment will ensure that services are co-ordinated, and delivered across settings and specialities with which the person comes into contact. It is for NHS Trusts to decide how to structure their nursing posts taking account of local circumstances.

Poverty

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it will do to ensure that the new Scottish Household Survey provides information about groups which are vulnerable to poverty including women, lone parents, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities.

Jackie Baillie: Introduced in 1999, the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is the largest sample survey ever undertaken in Scotland and currently collects information which can be disaggregated by sex, household type (including lone parents), ethnic origin and whether respondents report any long-standing illness, health problem or disability.

  The next results bulletin, which will be published in January, will focus on gender disaggregated results.